Triennial Convention

NSGEU Triennial Convention

This is one of the most important events the union coordinates, because it sets the tone and direction for the organization, moving forward. The voting delegates who participate in Convention are the supreme decision-making body of the NSGEU.

Every three years in late spring, hundreds of NSGEU members representing all locals gather in Halifax to discuss, debate and ultimately vote on “resolutions” which will help determine the union’s priorities and strategies for the next three years.

Triennial Convention delegates have, over the years, resolved the union to:

Push government to extend Workers’ Compensation Benefits to every Nova Scotian;

Donate nearly $100,000 to the Nova Scotia Citizens’ Health Care Network to help protect and strengthen Medicare through the renegotiation of the Health Accord in 2014;

Continue to invest in and promote the NSGEU’s innovative Bully-Free Workplace program.

Triennial Convention is an exciting and empowering event, and every NSGEU member has the chance take part. Each local, based on the number of members it has, is allotted a specific number of delegates to Convention. Late in the year before a Convention, each local elects its delegates (and alternates) during one of its local meetings. The next Triennial Convention will take place in May 2016, so locals will be holding their elections in early 2016.

You must be a member in good standing to be nominated as a delegate or alternate. Except at the formation of a new local, to be eligible for nomination as a delegate or alternate, a member shall have attended at least 40 per cent of her or his local meetings in the previous 12 months. But if your local is not able to elect a full complement of delegates and alternates who have attended 40 per cent of the previous year’s meetings, any member in good standing shall be considered eligible in order for your local to elect a full complement.

Along with discussing, debating, and deciding upon the NSGEU’s strategies and priorities over the next three years, Triennial Convention Delegates also vote for (and can seek nomination for) one of the union’s five Provincial Executive Committee positions.